Strayer BUS599 assignments +week 4-8 discussions

Assignment 2: Executing Strategies in a Global Environment: Examining the Case of Federal Express

Due Week 6 and worth 250 points

Review Case 7 "The Evolution of the Small Package Express Delivery Industry, 1973 - 2010", located in the textbook to complete this assignment.

Write a five to seven (5-7) page paper in which you:

• Analyze Federal Express’s value creation frontier, and determine which of the four building blocks of competitive advantage the company needs in order to continue to maintain above- average profitability. Provide a rationale to support the response.

• Determine the main aspect of product differentiation and capacity control that Federal Express could use in order to maintain an edge over its rivals. Justify the response.

• Assess the efficiency of Federal Express’s current business model, and recommend one (1) new business-level strategy that gives the company a competitive advantage over its rivals. Provide a rationale for the recommendation.

• Examine the manner in which overall global competition may impact the new business strategy that you recommended in Question 3. Next, suggest one (1) significant way that Federal Express may confront its global competition.

• Use at least three (3) quality academic resources in this assignment.Note:Wikipedia and similar type Websites do not qualify as academic resources.

Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

· Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.

· Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.?The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

· Describe strategic planning techniques used to formulate alternative strategies designed to achieve stated business goals.

· Recommend effective business strategies based on an analysis of domestic and global operating environments, market dynamics, and internal capabilities.

· Use technology and information resources to research issues in strategic management.

· Write clearly and concisely about strategic management using proper writing mechanics.

Assignment 3: A New Strategy for Kodak

Due Week 9 and worth 300 points

Review Case 28 “The rise and fall of Eastman Kodak: Will it survive beyond 2012?” located in the textbook. Assume that you have been hired by Kodak as a business consultant to recommend a new corporate-level strategy for the company to improve declining sales, increase profitability, and expand the company to the Cloud service industry.

Write a five to seven (5-7) page paper in which you:

• Establish five (5) key objectives for Eastman Kodak that encompasses the operational, financial, human resource aspects of the business. Next, argue that each of the established objectives is essential to the success of the company within the Cloud service industry.

• Analyze Kodak’s horizontal and vertical integration strategy and determine the corporate level strategy that is more appropriate for the company to establish a competitive advantage in the Cloud service industry. Provide a rationale for the determination.

• Determine five (5) ways in which pursuing a multibusiness model based on diversification may increase profitability for the company. Provide at least two (2) examples of such use of a multibusiness model from industry to support the rationale.

• Recommend one (1) implementation strategy for Eastman Kodak that considers organizational design, strategic control systems, structure, and the type of organizational culture fitting for the organization and its new industry. Justify the recommendation.

• Speculate on the way in which both the corporate-level strategy and the implementation strategy you recommended in Question 2 and Question 4 would support ethical business behaviors. Analyze the significant manner in which ethics, corporate social responsibility, and environmental sustainability impact the implementation of the strategies that you have recommended.

• Use at least three (3) quality academic resources in this assignment.Note:Wikipedia and similar type Websites do not qualify as academic resources.

Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

· Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.

· Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.?The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

· Recommend effective business strategies based on an analysis of domestic and global operating environments, market dynamics, and internal capabilities.

· Analyze a plan to implement a firm’s strategy and manage the change from current operations.

· Assess how ethics, corporate social responsibility, and environmental sustainability impact?strategy.

· Use technology and information resources to research issues in strategic management.

· Write clearly and concisely about strategic management using proper writing mechanics.

Assignment 4: Capstone Project

Due Week 10 and worth 480 points

Use the Internet or the Strayer Library to research articles on strategic management of Apple Inc. and Samsung Group.

Write a ten to twelve (10-12) page paper in which you:

• Analyze the existing business strategies, domestic and global environments, industry, and internal capabilities for both Apple and Samsung. Assess the significant manner in which each company’s mission and vision align with the long-terms goals and strategic direction of the organization.

• Analyze the business-level strategy of each company by conducting a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis. Next, determine the fundamental way in which each sector influences its competitive position within the industry. Provide rationale to support the response.

• Analyze the central manner in which the strategies of each company’s business leaders have adapted to cultural differences in order to both facilitate effective operations within global markets and drive new strategic initiatives with improved innovation excellence. Provide one (1) example of such strategies in use from each company to support the response.

• Evaluate the superiority of each company’s organizational competencies in terms of entrepreneurial capabilities, organizational design capabilities, and strategic capabilities geared toward increased performance and profitability. Include one (1) example of such superiority from each company to support the response.

• Recommend one (1) appropriate new business strategy for each company that may maximize profitability and improved competitiveness in the industry. Provide a detailed rationale for this strategy.

• Evaluate the success of both companies’ corporate-level strategies in terms of horizontal integration, vertical integration, strategic outsourcing, or diversification. Next, determine the type of strategy that contributed most effectively to the creation of a successful and profitable multibusiness model. Provide a detailed rationale to support the response.

• Analyze the strategies that the internal leadership of both Apple and Samsung has taken to discourage unethical behaviors. Provide at least three (3) examples of such leadership in action from both companies to support the response.

• Assume that both Apple and Samsung are in need of organizational change and must alter existing strategies. Recommend three (3) specific ways in which Apple and Samsung could change functional, business, and corporate strategies, as well as organizational structure and control in order to improve business performance and competitiveness in their industry. Provide a rationale to support the response.

• Use at least six (6) quality academic resources in this assignment.Note:Wikipedia and other Websites do not qualify as academic resources.